Viral vanquishers? New drugs could destroy all viruses

A group of researchers at Lincoln Laboratory’s Chemical, Biological, and Nanoscale Technologies Group have invented an entirely new type of drug called DRACOs. DRACOs could be the answer to all viruses – not just specific infections, but every virus we know of now and every virus that might be discovered in the future.

The new drugs work by attacking infected cells rather than targeting the virus itself, which is how traditional antivirals work. When a virus infects cells and instructs them to replicate the virus, it leaves RNA markers behind. DRACOs target only the cells that are infected, giving them a self-destruct order that stops the virus in its tracks. The drugs never target healthy cells, only those already under attack, and since the target is our own cells the virus doesn’t have a chance to out-evolve the drugs.